Boscoe!

Boscoe: We Ain't Free and If I Had My Way
From: Boscoe [Kingdom of Chad, 1974]

Whenever an exceedingly rare record comes up for auction it delivers the same range of responses. Half the people think the album is an overpriced pile of poo, the other half would happily pay the extortionate amount asked to get their hands on what they consider a grail in record collecting. What it seems to break down to is that while the album may not be worth the money asked for it, the knowledge that you can't pick up a reissue in your local store and that you are among the select few lucky enough to have it on vinyl adds extra enjoyment to the pleasure of listening. Sonic elitism in full effect my friends.

A classic example of this is Boscoe's self-titled opus. A private label record on the truly awesomely named Kingdom of Chad that is still to be reissued, the album goes for a staggering amount of money whenever it appears. While it could be debated if any album is worth this much money I am fully convinced that this is an undeniably great recording.

We Ain't Free goes some way to illustrating why people talk about this album in hushed reverence. An 8 minute stomper of funk featuring sweet harmonies, a riff that bangs round your head for days after, and the kind of breaks that make a producer feel like a kid in a candy store this is a blindingly hot track.

While If I Had My Way is less jawdropping than We Ain't Free it's still a great slice of funk with a lovely horns/bass play off. It's always struck me, considering the record is a private press, how superb the production on the album is - crystal clear clarity and deep deep bass.

I can't go out and recommend picking up this album for obvious reasons but hopefully it goes some way to illustrating why some people will drop so much dosh on a 12" piece of round vinyl........